


Now That I'm Here,

by alcoholicdolphin



Series: Riled Up [2]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Saints Row, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 20:56:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9090421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alcoholicdolphin/pseuds/alcoholicdolphin
Summary: Johnny Gat's flashbacks of my boss mixed with his feelings about them, while he is detained and assumed dead.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, this is totally meant for me, I just don't feel like I've made it canon for myself unless I post it, so here you go.

“Riles,” I started softly. She let out a big huff, not looking me in the eyes.

“I'm sorry. I didn't know it was such a touchy subject.” Riley bit her lip, looking down into the city bellow. We were sitting on the edge of a skyscraper not too far from Central Park. “Well now you do, so drop it.” She said horsely, not even glancing at me.

“Fine, be a pussy about it then, I said I was sorry.” I spat, standing up.

“Well it's not an easy thing to talk about!” Riley bellowed, snapping their head towards me, burning her eyes into my skull.

“You're acting like a teenage-”

“A what? A teenage WHAT Johnny?”

“Forget I said anything.”

“No. Say it.” Riley growled before standing. She thundered over to me, widened her stance with her eyes wide and full of rage and her mouth slightly open. Her pupils were so dilated I could barely see her hazel-green irises. She was tall enough to look down into my eyes with her platform wedge boots.

“A teenage _girl,_ Riley.”

Riley wasn't out to the Saints. Hell, they weren't out to half their friends. But me, being the lucky fucker I was, happened to come across a tranny hooker, who did know when I was trying to find where they lived. Don't ask why, _that_ was a long story.

“Go shove a 7 meter long cactus up your ass, you sexist, transphobic, narrow minded, thick-skulled fuck.” Riley snarled, stepping towards me with her hands resting on the handles of her twin xiphos.

“Woah, there's no need to get that angry, Riles.”

“Don't you dare call me 'Riles' after spewing out that kind of bullshit.”

“Sorry, _a moody teenager_. Better?”

“Fuck you.” Riley raised their eyebrows menacingly, cocking her head to the side.

“I'm just trying to reconcile, Riley.” “You can start by acknowledging thAT I AM A FUCKING TEEN AGE PERSON, AND I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE FUCKING PISSED.”

“Riles,” I started, placing a hand on her shoulder only to have her knock it off in disgust.

“ **Don't touch me.** ” She breathed coldly. I drew a deep breath.

“Riley, I'm not going to tell anyone, I doubt they'd give a shit anyway, seeing as how much ass you kick.” Riley's brows furrowed, but her shoulders relaxed a little bit. “That's not what I'm worried about. Well, not the main thing, anyway.” She stated harshly.

“Then what is?”

Riley stared into my eyes, before shaking her head and looking away. Her offensive stance diminishing. “Look, I ain't a mind reader like your mutant buddies, you're going to have to actually tell me.”

Riley's faced twitched before she slowly blinked, biting her lip. “That you... you-” Riley tried to get out before giving up angrily. “That I what? Might treat you differently? Might tell you to get your tranny ass away from me?” Riley stared at me in horror, eyes filled with pain as her jaw began to drop.

I stared at her, taken back. This bitch was killing motherfuckers like Christopher fucking Columbus and something as small as that would get to her? Jesus christ. I bowed my head, looking into her eyes.

“Don't go soft on me now.” I said gently. “You're still my favorite teenage psychopath, doesn't matter what you identify as, kid.” I slowly licked my my lips before resting my palm on Riley's shoulder. She didn't say anything this time.

“Doesn't matter, or it doesn't affect how you feel about me?” Riley asked quietly.

“What's the difference?”

“One implies you don't give a shit what I call myself and you just want me to shut up about it so you can ignore it better, the other implies that it isn't a factor in how you feel about your friends and you accept me for who I am.”

“Second one.” I chuckled. Riley sure could have a mature speech pattern for a highschooler. “I'll even say it out loud if you want.” Riley smiled softly, relaxing. “I got your back kid, as long as you got mine anyway, and I accept you for who ya are.”

Riley starred at me for a moment, before resting her head on my shoulder. I moved my hand from her deltoid to around her neck, along with the other one as she wrapped her arms around my torso. Her breath was slow and she showed no intention of wanting to back out of this hug.

“It's alright Riles, I'm here.” I whispered reassuringly into her ear. She pressed her nose into my trap. I could feel her bangs tickling my jaw and her long eyelashes against my neck. Their fingers began to dig into my back.

“I need to know that I can trust you.” Riley whispered. “I need to hear you say it.” “What? Why?” I questioned. Riley wasn't the sentimental type. “I have more mutations that you don't know about. Now, say it.”

“You can trust me.” Riley shifted at the sound of my words. “Okay.” They stated bluntly, letting me go. “You still want to hear about my family?” I smirked.

“Sure, kid. But I'll tell you about mine first to make it even.”

 

* * *

 

 

“yOU BLEW UP THE CAR?” Julius screeched. Riley shrugged. “Well... I mean... I blew up the news van beside the car, and the news van blew up the car when _it_ exploded...” “RILEY.” Julius blurted, exasperated. “Now listen here, when I told you to keep the news vans away while you drove the girls around with their clients, I didn't mean you had to blow them. You went too far, player.”

“You didn't say I couldn't...?” Riley argued back. “Besides, I got the money from his corpse. It all worked out.”

“You're missing the point. We can't just smoke all our business.” Julius began to massage the bridge of his nose. “I mean... _we could_...” Riley started. “It would be a lot less hassle to just loot them afterwards and the girls won't be in danger...” Riley suggested, raising their hands in the air.

“We are not blowing people up for fucking bitches.” Julius stated coldly. “Yeah, let's blow them up for wearing yellow instead.” Riley sneered. I snorted resting my hand on their shoulder. “She's got a point, Jules.” I observed, raising a brow as Riley continued.

“Pull some Trojan horse shit and get all the pedos and pervs in the same place and rob them blind. Hell, if they drive there, we can sell their cars too.”

“Outside the box thinking, right there. Hell, we even get to do a bit of murdering.” I commented, gesturing to Riley as I looked at Julius. “No.” Julius barked. “Jules, do you have any idea how much a human heart sells for? Like, $450,000 in the US. If we sell their organs too, as well as loot their cash and sell their cars, we'll walk away rich.”

“We are a gang, not blackmarket organ dealers.” Julius protested. “Gangs need money. And right now, those nasty mother fuckers are begging us to put a bullet in their head!” Riley exasperated. “not near their eyes though, since those are with a little over $15,000...” They continued, muttering under their breath.

“Riley, you're like a daughter to me. A white, nasty, sadistic, murderous daughter. And as a father to a daughter, shut the fuck up.” Julius hissed, beginning to turn to walk away. I held back a snort.

“Love ya too, Jules.” Riley called out, dryly as Julius lumbered off, grumbling.

“So what's this about popping people in the head?” I questioned, once I was sure Julius was out of earshot. Riley smirked, crossing their arms. “I knew you'd want in.”

“Who wouldn't want in on a murder spree?” I demanded, grinning, causing Riley to laugh. “True.” Riley started. “We're going to need to find a brothel to host this... thing... and honestly, the cash is nothing compared to their organs, so we could say it's a 50% off night or something and spread the word.”

“Then just kill the bastards?”

“Fuck yeah. Carefully, though. Neck snap or shot to the forehead. We gotta keep the organs safe when we kill them. We're gonna hafta find a buyer too.” “And Julius?”

“We'll give him 20%.”

 

* * *

 

Riley and Aisha had gotten pretty close in the last couple of months. Man, Eesh loved the kid. She would take them shopping and go to concerts with them, hell, they even went to a jazz club together on karaoke night. Aisha made me come out tonight to watch them, claiming that Riles was a great singer.

Shitty pop songs blared as poorly talented drunks screeched inaudible words into the microphone. Me and Eesh were at the bar getting ourselves a couple drinks while Riley was wandering around.

“Johnny, I'm serious, she's really good.” Eesh insisted as she passed me a beer. “I'm sure they is. But that doesn't mean you had to drag me out here to prove it.” I grumbled, raising a brow as I glanced at Riley who was talking to some girl at one of the tables. “Look she could have a real career-” “And what- get some shitty record deal then have to fake their death to get out of it?” I teased.

Aisha's brows furrowed. “Johnny,” She started, “She's 15. She has her whole life ahead of her, she doesn't have to be some gangster, and she's smart and talented enough to not be.” Aisha lectured. “And what's so bad about that, huh? They've got money, power and a kickass crew.”

“She has a future, Johnny!” Eesh barked. “I know you like having Riley around, but you have to think of what's best for her.”

“Yeah totally, nothing's better for me than trying to decide my life for me behind my back.” Riley growled, causing Aisha to jump.

They had snuck up right behind her. “Riley I-” “Don't worry about it, you had good intentions.” Riley interrupted, not looking at Eesh. “Johnny knows why I can never go legit though, unless I get plastic surgery and a new identity.” I nodded. “You can tell her about that by the way, if you want.” Riley added, taking a small sip from a long island ice tea.

“You're not 21, how'd you get that?” I questioned. Riley gestured to the table they were sitting at, talking to a girl earlier. “She bought it for me.” Riles explained with a shrug. “Apparently my charm and good looks are very useful.” They muttered, taking another sip. “Can we go home now, or are you two going to actually sing?” I demanded. Aisha groaned.

“Alright, alright... Riley, let's get on stage.” Riley puckered their lips in confusion and glanced at the both of us before letting Eesh take them by the arm to the sign up sheet. I grimaced, massaging my temples and flumped down at a table near the front.

Riley had gotten a haircut recently and their hair that was once past their collar bone was now in a messy bob. It looked pretty good on her too. Pink and purple lights flared as Riley and Eesh were announced. Riles grinned as they held a mic in between Eesh and them. Oh. It was [that song](http://8tracks.com/alcoholicdolphin/boss-and-eesh-karaoke-night). Hearing Aisha's strong, beautiful voice made the outing a hell of a lot better. I could listen to her sing all day.

Eesh wasn't wrong about Riles. Fuck, that kid could sing. You'd think the bitch was in their late 20's how well they could use that voice. They were doing some shitty dance moves too, Riley even tried to shimmy, but them and Eesh were laughing too hard to do it properly, it just looked like their shoulders were having a fucking seizure or something. The lyrics behind them disappeared as the instrumental part rolled in.

“TWIRK!! TWIRK!! TWIRK!! TWIRK!!” Riley chanted, squatting and pumping their fist in the air while staring at Aisha. Aisha rolled her eyes, laughing like crazy, as the crowd went wild and started chanting with Riles. I couldn't help but chuckle with her. “GO GET 'EM, EESH!!” I bellowed, cupping my hands around my mouth. As Riley's part came on, Aisha started to dance.

The two did about half a dozen more songs each, accompanied with more shitty dancing and drunken rambling. It was good to see my two favorite girls... or non-guys having so much fun together. Aisha avoided doing any of her own songs, since that would be a dead giveaway, but I'm still pretty sure some people in the crowd recognized her voice

I'm not the sentimental type, but moments like these, when Aisha and Riley were genuinely happy and carefree, those made me smile. They made me feel something, ya know? I wish we had more of them, but honestly, those memories keep me sane here.

 

* * *

 

Softly, slowly, her- I mean, _their_ hands pulled a needle through my bicep. A bullet had grazed my muscle and there was no time to go to the hospital. Riley had done a first aid course in that combat camp and had experience in sewing up their own wounds.

“Okay, you're going to need to dab some peroxide on twice a day so you don't get infected and it'll probably be best if you keep it covered with a bandage or something.” She- _they_ said lightly. “Thanks.” I began to move my arm around.

“Also, if you flex the thread might rip. And I'm not sewing it up again.” Riley stated harshly. “Nah, I'm lying, I'll patch you up again, I will twist your nips though if it was because you were being fucking dumb again.” Riley sighed as I began to chuckle.

“Do they teach you how to do surgery too at that camp?” I asked as Riley began to pack their equipment away into a small kit they kept in hidden in the hotel. Riley grinned, not looking up. “Only the basic stuff, like brain, spinal and open heart.” I snorted. “Damn, remind me to get you to be my doctor.” The smile began to fade on my lips as I began to lean further back into the couch around the bonfire.

“Seriously Riles,” I started, raising a brow. “What else do they teach you?” Riley drew a deep breath and zipped the kit closed before pumping down on the couch, beside me.

“I can make a splint, do tape jobs, remove bullets, treat most poisons and burns, and keep someone from bleeding out if they've lost a limb.”

All of that seemed well and good, normal stuff they would teach, but bullet removal seemed far fetched. I have doubted Riley in the past only to make a complete fucking idiot of myself, so it wasn't that I didn't believe them. More like this camp sounds like it's training mercenaries or some shit.

“Bullets? They teach you that?” I questioned, looking into Riley's eyes.

“Only to the actual medics. I do a lot of field work, so I got one of the medics to teach me.” Riley stated flatly.

“What do you mean by field work? I've never seen you go on like a mission or any of that shit.”

“Most people who go to the camp live there and don't go outside it much. It's pretty dangerous for people like us. I can't stand being there for too long, it so fucking depressing. The life expectancy is less than 19 for us. Half the people there are like, 12, and we all know that most of us don't even make it to the camp, we die on the way there. Everybody goes outside at some point, we can't stand being surrounded by all these kids that are gonna be slaughtered in the next couple of months. We train each other. Often, the best of us die trying to protect the weaker ones.”

I stared at Riley, dumbfuck. “...What kind of fucked up murder camp is this?” I asked, my voice low. Riley grimaced. “The kind that is still the only real chance people like me have of surviving.” Riley took a swig of a small bottle of whisky they kept in their bag.

“Sounds like a blast.”

“It is, literally. Our war games our lethal.” Riley's voice was hollow and the stared out into the fire, watching it crackle.

“Wish I could have gone there. Sounds like my kind of place.” Riley blinked before a small smile formed on their lips. “You'd fit in great. Clair would practically demand your friendship...or your head...” Riley smiled at the thought, saying the last part under their breath.

“Who's Clair?” Riley choked on their booze, coughing and spewing. “She's...ah-a friend.” Riley sputtered out, trying to regain control of their lungs. “Clairisse. I just sometimes call her Clair. You met a while back.”

It wasn't hard to guess that Riley was a mutant, they made no effort to hide it, while at the same time they didn't explicitly say they were. I kind of wanted to talk to them about it, and we were alone now so...

“Riles, you a mutant?” Riley paused, they were in the middle of placing the bottle back in their bag.

“That's a good question.” Riley stated awkwardly, clearing their throat. “Yeah. But I'm also a demigod... or demititan. I'm not sure which word to use in all honesty.”

“Like, one of them half-gods?” I wasn't sure how raised the fuck up my eyebrows were, but they were higher than Shaundi was at that Halloween party we went to a couple days ago, and that was saying something. Mutants were one thing, but this... just the thought of damn demigod was fucking insane, and that's saying something, coming from me. I had seen a lot of fucked up, crazy-ass bullshit, I had heard about the demigods through the Evlon Prime Minister, Kyrannis Theoson, and the rumors around Stilwater, but I never expected it to be true.

Riley was a sarcastic little shit who loved to joke around and prank people, and they weren't above pulling this kinda shit with me now, but part of me knew they were telling the truth. I dunno, as crazy as it seemed, I trusted them. I believed them. I mean, the bitch fought with a sword and shield half the time; it made sense.

“Yeah. My dad's Helios, so he's technically a titan though.” Riley was playing with their bracelets at this point. I think they did want to tell me about this, they just were kind of nervous to or some shit like that. Riles was answering all my questions, so that was a good sign. Usually when I asked too many or they weren't in the mood they'd just sass me before flipping me off and leaving.

Riley spent a fair amount of time with The Saints, and they had seen first hand what went down with Aisha and the Ronin. Riley knew a lot about me, and everything that was going on in my life. But I had no idea how much shit they were dealing with until they went missing for a few days and I had to get one of their school buddies to track them down. Actually, that was when I met Clairisse.

“So all that shit with heaven and hell is real?”

“I dunno about that, but all the Greek and Roman mythology shit is real.”

“You're kidding.”

“I wish. But the fact that my girlfriend's grandpa fucked a bird and somehow got that bird pregnant and that bird gave birth to Helen of Troy, is as real as my tits.” Riley sneered. Their brows furrowed as they took a deep breath, trying to relax before resting their head on my shoulder.

“That's fucking nasty.”

“You should see the sex tape.”

 

* * *

 

It took everything in me to stay awake. Riles was having a bad day and apparently, the best way to bring up their mood was to watch kids' movies, specifically the cartoon ones. So here I was, stretched out on the couch in Riley's room with my feet on the coffee table, and Riles themself cuddled up to me. I swear to god, that kid was not hugged enough when they were little.

Riley's cheeks were buried in their hands, as they were blushing uncontrollably at the movie. “I want to marry the animation.” Riley squealed. “It's... just so beautiful.” I think we were watching a Disney movie. It seemed like a Disney. There was a weird little blue alien fucking shit up, and some orphan kid trying to teach him to be good, while her older sister tried to get a job. I dozed off for most of the middle but now that I'm awake, I notice that Riley's face is glistening with tears.

“Riles, you crying?” I questioned, a smirk forming on my face.

“The movie... the plot... the characters... _**they're all so good...**_ ” Riley wailed, biting their lip, as on screen the older sister began to sing on a hammock to the little one. I snickered, shaking my head, but Riley didn't even notice. They were too enthralled by the movie to notice.

Riley sniffed as the credits began to roll. “I don't see how that made you any happier, you were balling your eyes out, boss.” I commented.

“Fuck you, it's happy crying.” Riley sniffed, grabbing a tissue from their hoodie pocket and blowing their nose.

Sometimes, I forgot that the boss was still just a kid. I mean sure, I called them one pretty often, but to actually see them be one was a different thing entirely. I had picked Riley up from school a couple of times, but to see them actually act like a little kid, it was so fucking weird.

 

* * *

 

When Julius tried to blow Riles the fuck up, he had no idea they could survive any temperature, being a kid of a sun god. So, he was dumbfuck surprised when Riles showed up the next day without a scratch. Shit, he tried to take some of us to, we all had to disband in order for Troy to get his way and avoid arresting us. Like actually take some, he gave a bunch of us to the police, including me and Shyama. Riles got away when the police first arrested us.

But they came back. Walked straight into the police station and demanded to see us. There was no way the cops would let us out, they had enough evidence to put me and Shy in the chair almost immediately. I wasn't there, but I saw the security footage a couple days later, and shit was pretty fucked up.

Riley fired 2 shots from their pistol into the air. Screams rang out as people crouched and several officers started yelling pointing their gun at Riley.

“Listen up, you racist, child killing fucks,” Riles started, bellowing into the station. “I know you have 2 of my people, and I know that you shits plan on executing their sorry asses. I'm willing to exchange the location and identity of the mutant you call 'phoenix' with the identification code 558746392 who has killed a total of 136 secret service agents from various agencies around the world, for their freedom.” The room was dead silent.

There were at least 3 dozen of officers in the room, “Hold on ma'am, let's be civil, here,” A man in a grey suit warned, cautiously stepping towards them. Riley's eyes darted to them, having already lowered their pistol. “Define civil. I have done nothing to harm any of you, I just want my friends back, alive and unharmed.”

“Miss, I don't believe I know what you're referi-”

“Johnny Gat and Shyama Mendez. They are being held underground on level B4 with a gun to pointed at Gat's head, while one of your officers is assaulting Mendez. Get them to leave her alone and then we can talk.” Riles demanded, their eyes wide and full of bloodlust.

The man blinked. “My officers?” He questioned. “Yes, your officers. You are the police commissioner, and you are going to let them go if you want that intel.” Riley barked, their voice low.

The suit man pondered this. “Alright, tell us then, I'll get my men to stand down.” Riley's eye twitched. “Liar.” They hissed. “Order them to stand down, now.”

“I won't be doing that. There's no way I can immediately tell your intel is good, besides, even if you're right, that doesn't mean we'll catch 'The Phoenix'.” The man spat, stepping toward Riley, pointing a gun at their head.

“Then we have a problem don't we?” Riles scoffed. “You're right, there's going to be a dead teenager on the floor soon.” He threatened, gesturing the cops to surround Riley.

“Wait, commissioner!” A familiar voice blurted out. It was the little bitch cop himself. “That girl there... is a mutant, and a very lethal one. They might actually know where The Phoenix is.” Troy pleaded as he ran out to stand besides his boss.

“She's just a kid-”

“Fuck yeah I am. I'm a kid who melted a van with their bare hands. I'm a kid who beat to death 6 FBI agents when I was 7 with a broken Pepsi bottle. I'm a kid who got blown up by Julius fucking Little, and survived without a scratch. I'm the kid who killed the Montreal School Shooters last April by gouging out their eyes with my bare thumbs.” Riley roared, their face was beet red. One of the officers shot at her, but she dodged. Riley dodged a fucking bullet like it was nothing. Troy swallowed hard, trying to push down his fear.

“I am The Phoenix and if you don't let my friends go, pardon them, and give them Julius Little, so they can kill him themselves, I'll kill everyone in this building, starting with your daughter, Mr. Vice, and I'll make you watch.”

The cops shuffled uncomfortably. They had to confirm this with their government, then wait for them to decide, which didn't take long since apparently there was a 6 billion Euro bounty on Riley's head. Cops walked Shyama and me out, past Riley, and once Riles was satisfied and was sure that we were actually free, they gave themselves up.

Shy and I held the Saints down for a couple of days. There was no way I was letting Riles get to those fed fucks, so I got Kinzie to find where Riley was in their transport, and me, Shy, and Clairesse ambushed it. All we had to do was cause enough commotion to give Riley a window where all eyes weren't on them, and they burst out of the armored van, melting it, and killed nearly everyone in the area.

Riles was still Julius's right hand, they outranked me and Shy, and I had seen first hand how fucking brutal their tactics were and how selfless they were when it came to the Saints. Riley was a tactician, a tank in fights, and had the charisma to manipulate anyone they wanted. I was never one to lead, and after seeing all of this from Riles, Shyama and I agreed it would be best if we let them be the boss. Didn't matter they were 7 years younger than me and a little over half Shyama's age. We trusted that crazy 15-year-old asshole.

Riley took my mind off Aisha's death, and since Shyama always wanted to hang out with them, we started to get close too. Riley always sang their heart out with Pierce in the car, I hated it, it was fucking annoying, but I loved it too. It made me happy to see Riles happy. They and Clairesse helped train Shaundi, and Riles helped her and move past her hippie phase. Riley brought out the best in Shaundi, told her everything she needed to hear, no matter how cliche or awkward it was, and it really fucking was, but Riles was so honest and listened. They even befriended Viola over time.

It was brighter with them, not fake-ass bright, Riley was a bit of a realist, they acknowledged pain and often was down themselves, but what made it bright was their blunt, cruel and beautiful honesty. Riley could be a bitch, no doubt about that, but Riles was able to calm people down, they were able to give a broader view of things and comfort those who needed it, and understand people's feelings by tone and body language.

I'm glad Shaundi has them. She really needs someone that good in her life. I wish I could be there with her. I hope she isn't too hung up on me. Even if she was, there's nothing I can do about that, not right now anyway.

 

* * *

 

_Back when I lived in Quebec, my mom, my brother and I lived in a really white suburban neighborhood. We were upper middle class. My mom was an author and had written several children's books as well as young adult novels. She also worked as an editor of a magazine owned by a company in Dubai that was sent out to the oil riggers of Fort McMurray. My dad, the one who raised me, he died when I was 12, of brain cancer. My dad was a pastor at the New Saints Brotherhood Church in downtown Montreal._

_My family was so fucking white and nuclear. I would go on for hours at the dinner table about injustices happening in the US when I was young, and how poorly minorities were treated. It was a really good life. We were from a position of privilege so we could do as we please for the most part._

_University was expected of me. While there is an insane difference of tuition costs between Canada and the United States, it still was a pretty big deal to just have that expectation of you from the second you were born._

_Jakob, my little brother, was a little shit. For years I bullied and despised him. Everyone treated him as though he was so above everything and he constantly picked fights with me then played the victim to get me in trouble. But in the last weeks before he died, we reached a common ground of sorts._

_We would play Mario Kart for hours on end and discuss all the “dank memes”. Hahaha... It was actually pretty nice. We became friends. Kind of. We had been at each others' throats for years and then, we weren't. He bought me a pokemon beanie and icecream, and I chucked 5 dollars worth of nickles at his face so he could buy a Steam card._

_It was starting to look up. It had taken me a lot of time to get over my dad's death. A couple of my friends had committed suicide in the same year too. There was too much pressure on them, to succeed, to be a happy, straight, little Christian who did nothing wrong. But Micheal... he couldn't handle it._

_Heh... That was the first funeral I went to._

_I was the one who found his body. I went in early to school (oh, I went to a private Christian school at the time) and I had to go under the stage in the theater. I was an angel and I was supposed to come out of the trap door and announce Jesus's birth to some shepherds. So I went underneath the stage, just, ya know, like normal for practice... and... he was there. He didn't go home last night and he had taken a bunch of his mom's antidepressants all at once. I think it was like, 6 months worth._

_He was staring at me. I used to have nightmares about it. I developed insomnia around that time._

_But... uh... anyways... my dad was dying and shit and that really fucked me up. Despite being in a really christian family, my parents were pretty chill. They supported gay rights and minority representation, I guess that's why I felt so safe around them. So when I lost my dad, who was the epitome of logic and acceptation in my mind, it got really bad._

_I cut a lot. I attempted over a dozen times. And my youth pastor, Leah, she died of cancer too. It was ovarian cancer, though, and it was a year later._

_I watched my family tear down my cousin for dating a girl when he was younger and identified as a girl, then tear him down for coming out as transgender several years later. Not like, the people in my house, family, but the people I was related to. That was when I really saw firsthand how important it is to protect and accept. I did my best to take care of him, but he was older than me so there wasn't much I could do._

_7 months ago, some guys showed up at my school with guns. It was Canada, that shit never happened. I was just 14. They mowed down everyone in their path and shot me in the calf before dragging me into a van. I'm not sure what government they were from, but they needed me alive. I kicked, I screamed, hell, I even bit the fuckers. But I couldn't get away._

_That was when I first used my powers. The van got really hot. It was like a metal oven, I could feel the heat coming off me. I reached out and grabbed everything I could. They were all screaming. I was burning them with my hands. I was able to get my blindfold off and I took one of their guns and shot the driver in the head. They tried to grab me but my skin had gotten so hot they were starting too catch on fire if they got to close. I melted the locks on the door, trapping us all inside._

_They were dead within the hour. I ran out of the Van and got a taxi back to my place once the engine caught fire. I went through the back, and saw that there were more of them in my house. I still had the gun from one of they van guys. So I went around, turned on the sprinkler on the side of my house, and waited until the yard was soaked. All I had to do then was wait for them to come outside. It took them a while to notice that the sprinkler was on, but once they did, all I had to do was cut the wire from last year's Christmas lights, throw it in the puddle, and plug the lights in._

_When I first walked in, I saw my mom. There was a splatter of blood and brain on my painting hung over the fireplace. She was sprawled out on the floor, a bullet hole in her head. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak._

_I had to pack my bag. I knew that much. Jakob was in a heap in front of the bathroom. He was shot in the chest. My cat, Shadow, he was hiding underneath my bed, shaking. I took him with me. All my other pets were gone._

_That's when this little satyr showed up and told me I had to come with him. It just felt like a bad dream so I did, I was like “Well why the fuck not. I'm probably dead anyway” so we took a plane to New York and I've been living on Manhattan with that camp ever since. Later, I learned that my family on both sides was completely wiped out._

_The people at camp, they trained me, hated me at first, but trained me. I knew a couple people there and I mostly stayed with them. They're the closest thing I have to family these days._

“What about me?”

_You're my crazy uncle._

 

 


End file.
